August 22, 2012

How To Update Old Brass Doorknobs With Spray Paint

Ever since we first moved in to our 1970's fixer upper, I've wanted to replace the outdated brass doorknobs that graced every single door in the house. Upon finding that new doorknobs were around $15-$30 a piece, I decided to try spray painting them instead.

And good news....they turned out SO amazing!

So, let's get started.

First thing first, here's what the doorknobs in my bedroom looked like before I spray painted them. Just basic brassy knobs.

Here's an up close look.

And here's what the doorknobs looked like after I spray painted them.

I just loved how they turned out, and it really made such a difference in the overall feel of the room.

In fact, the doorknobs turned out so well, that I decided to use the same spray paint on the hardware on my thrift store dresser that I painted white earlier this year.

Here's a closeup.

Okay, so let's get started with a quick tutorial.

First things first, I simply removed the doorknob from the door with a screwdriver.

Then I took the doorknob outside into a well ventilated area and placed it on some cardboard. I didn't prime or sand the knobs beforehand. I've spray painted about a million things at this point, and have found that most of them time when spray painting metal items, primer is unneccessary. Spray paint is an oil based product, and it adheres really well to just about anything.

Choosing a spray paint is really one of the most important parts of this project. I've tried other version of oil rubbed bronze, and they just can't compete with this one.

My favorite is Rustoleum Universal Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze. You can find it at most home improvement stores and online here (affiliate link).

I just absolutely love the way it looks. It's almost black, but has little specks of metallic in it that makes it look like a professional oil rubbed bronze finish.

I spray painted two light coats on the doorknobs, allowing each coat to dry in between for about 30 minutes. Once I was done, I brought them inside and let the paint fully cure for about 24 hours before reattaching them to the doors.

Many of you have asked since I originally wrote this post about whether or not the paint has held up, and I'm happy to report that it has held up great. I also ended up using the same spray paint on some other hardware and even a few hinges elsewhere in the house, and I've just been really pleased with the result. Plus, the great part is that it's spray paint, so if you do happen to notice any wear or tear, it's an easy fix...just remove the hardware and touch it up with some more spray paint!

And just for fun, here's a little side by side of the doors (newly painted using this tutorial) with their fresh new oil rubbed bronze doorknobs. It's quite the upgrade from when we first moved in, and all it required was paint.

Love the door knobs and the entire room. So pretty. I was going to try to paint my ugly brass door handle on my front door. Do you think the paint will hold up being that its outside? All the new handle sets are way over $100.00.

I too LOVE that particular ORB spray paint! We used it for the cupboard and cabinets handles in our former home's kitchen. It looked f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s! We had 27 handles to replace. I wasn't about to spend $6 per handle for the ones I wanted ;-) Hence, the spray paint on some different handles I got for 10 cents each, used.

Hubby did spray prime them too. I suspect using the primer gives it even more longevity :-)

Yup! If anything dates a room sooner, it's those bright shiny brass knobs! Glad to see you've sent them to their 80's/90's doom :-)

BTW, I love your master BR in both the warm and cooler looks. Either way, they're neutrals and I LURRRRVE neutral rooms! That's why I'm a big fan of your blog :-)

@ Carol Jane....I think you could easily spray paint your exterior door knob. However, this is the place where you'd definitely want to spray prime (with an autobody primer you can find in the automotive section at places like Walmart). Two coats of spray primer, two or more coats of spray paint as needed. It should hold up at least for awhile...until you can get the one of your dreams :-)

You might even ask a car body shop if they'd spray prime/paint it for you! It might be worth checking out. :-)

did the doors have a lock? Does it still work? We have about 14 pairs of doorknobs that are driving me nuts. But bathroom and bed room doors need to be able to lock and I am worried the paint my cause the doors not to lock.

Hi Vicky! I'm really not sure. All of ours were knobs that twist to lock, so they don't have the little lock on the front of them. They might not hold up as well, and you would probably want to try to take them apart and spray each piece separately. If you don't love your knobs though, it might be worth a try. I would try spray painting just one and see how it turns out. :)

I have the same ugly brass door knobs through out my house and it annoys me!!! So glad that I found a cheaper alternative than having to spend $$$$ on replacing all the knobs in the restrooms and all the doors inside the house!!! Thank you!!!

I'm assuming you had to remove the knobs from the doors before spray painting. Is that difficult to do? Did you spray prime the knobs first? I really want to do this rather than buy all new knobs. Thank you for the info!!

This is a dumb question...but, do you remove the door knobs, trim and hinges whenever you paint them? I have some ceiling lights that have bright brass rings, near the ceiling and I'm wondering about just loosening them enough to allow me to slide paper underneath, all the way around, in order to spray paint it in place. Any thoughts?

@boxerbev.....I loosened my hall ceiling light, slid a cut up paper bag under it then sprayed CAREFULLY. Turned out awesome and I too love the rubbed bronze paint. I just remembered I painted my house numbers with it too and a year later they look still perfect!

Love your look! All of the fixtures in our house have been updated to brushed nickel, so I think the bronze would look too dark. Do you have any ideas for how to get a brushed nickel look with spraypaint?

I love your blog!! Keep it up always and forever, because you have so many tips that I can turn to (even as a renter!) that will let me put my own permanent touches on a house that isn't mine....and the landlord will still love them! Who doesn't like clean grout, updated trim, and high-end looking doorknobs?

Hi there! Yes, I did remove the doorknobs to paint them. I never painted the hinges, but plan to soon. I'll be removing those as well. Removing the hinges is a bit more tedious, and they aren't as noticeable as the doorknobs are, so I've been putting it off! Hopefully I'll tackle the hinges later this summer! :)

I've heard that from a few people, too. They must just have different knobs that have more detail to them perhaps. Our knobs are very simple and have held up almost perfectly. They still look great and I've not had to touch them up yet!

I painted my kitchen door pulls, light fixtures, fireplace screen with an oil rubbed bronze paint. It is a brush on paint quart size for $9.00. It has been over a year and a couple of the pulls chipped a little. I just took out my brush and touched them up. I have saved $100s with this $9.00 can of paint. And I thing it looks great.

Virginia, I used the ORB spray paint on my door knobs this week. I absolutely love them. How has your paint held up? After putting one of the knobs back on the door, I noticed that I chipped the paint a little. Wondering how well they will hold up under normal wear.

Hi Sarah! Ours have held up almost perfectly, but I suppose it just depends on the situation. It's spray paint, so it's not a forever solution by any means. The good news is that if they do wear or chip a little bit, you can always touch them up easily! :)

I have done this as well, and I painted our hinges - my secret for those is To just take off the top hinge on all your doors, paint them and put them back on, then move to the middle ones and do the sane all the way down then you don't need to remove the doors and it is much easier to put them back on

We just bought a house and removed about 30 brass light and electric outlet fixtures, but because they looked so gaudy for our style we were gonna just toss them. I changed my faucet to oil rubbed bronze and then in passing the paint isle at home depot discovered rustolium oil rubbed bronze spray paint, not sure it would work, brought it home. It was work a try and metal outlet covers are $5-12 each to buy. So I used steel whool to sand them a little and four mouths later they still look good, we have even received compliments. I am so glad we did this and didn't have to use ordinary white plastic ones. We saved a lot of money too. I did have to buy a few pics of brown outlet screws....no way was I painting screws!

Virginia,I've recently come across your blog (via Pinterest). I LOVE it and enjoy your humor as well. I like ORB, but don't necessarily want black for the color of my kitchen hardware. Do you know if they have a slightly lighter version of ORB that's more dark-brown in color? Thanks!

I totally heart your ideas and your blog is fantastic!! Maybe I missed it, but would you be able to tell me how you refinished your mirror to that gorgeous silver color? I have one here that I would like to do the same to. Thanks so much!

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Hi! I'm Virginia! I'm a newlywed & new homeowner who loves decorating and DIY projects. Making something new out of something old is what inspires me! I'm constantly looking for affordable ways to transform our house! This is my place to share inspirations and DIY! Oh, and maybe talk a little bit about my love for very fat cats. View my story